


The Day Trip

by Cuirlfox369



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crushes, M/M, My First AO3 Post, i dont know what else is even relevent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 23:50:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6775198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuirlfox369/pseuds/Cuirlfox369
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During their first semester at a college in Kalos, Matt and Tabitha have established a simple relationship. Matt helps Tabitha work out; Tabitha helps Matt study for school. After becoming friends, the two decide that they should visit some of Kalos's famous attractions. Of course, their choices sound as different as night and day. Tabitha isn't looking forward to the ocean and Matt isn't too enthused about looking at a bunch of rocks. Will they push their boundaries a bit and learn something new? Either way, it may prove to be an interesting trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Day Trip

Now, if you had told Tabitha at the beginning of the semester that- in several weeks- he would find himself on a sandbar in Azure Bay, he would have laughed at how outrageous that would be.

If you had told him he would be accompanied by a bodybuilder who helped Tabitha work out in exchange for tutoring lessons (and the occasional ice cream), the admittedly chubby student would have yelled at you for being presumptuous and rude.

Looking back at the events leading to this moment, he knew he would have Courtney to blame or thank for it all. He had wanted to be a bit more confident at the beginning of the semester and it had been her suggestion to try something new, like working out. After having to attend a few practices to take photos of the swim team, she even suggested him to one of the members, who was looking to become a personal trainer. 

He mentally prepared himself to face whoever it might be, but he never could have prepared for someone like Matt.

In the first place, the other student was a muscular behemoth. He wasn’t lean like some swimmers; no, Matt was huge with muscles like a Machamp. Secondly, his positive attitude was as annoying as it was infectious. The tan swimmer was always friendly and reassuring, even when Tabitha was irritated about waking up early to train before classes began. Even when it was obvious the dark-skinned man could easily trump Tabitha in any exercise, Matt was never condescending and constantly congratulated him on his improvements.

In the afternoon, they would meet in the library to study and go over the class material. They shared a number of classes, surprisingly, but they had very different class times. Matt was perceptive, but his attention drifted quickly, especially when he didn’t fully understand the terminology being used. He wasn’t a terribly good verbal learner and instead preferred visuals or physical examples. Tabitha was pleasantly impressed by the bodybuilder’s memory. Although it took some time for the material to sink in, Matt had a remarkable retention once he understood the concepts being used. 

Somewhere between the gym lessons and studying sessions, they became friends.

Both were native to Hoenn, but had moved to Kalos to further their studies. Neither had had much time to visit some of the region’s more notable locations. When they realized the places they most wanted to visit were close together, the two decided to dedicate a Saturday to visit both.

The first stop is Matt’s choice: Azure Bay.

Which leads Tabitha to his current predicament. The sandbar is dry, but the Lapras ride to it had nearly given him a heart attack and a half. Now, the dry student rests on a long, red beach towel with a red inner tube sitting idly by his side. The dark haired man is clad in a red t-shirt, dark red and black swim trunks, and worn pair of red and white tennis shoes. The Lapras is drifting in the water nearby as it awaits to be called upon once more. Wearing only a blue pair of swimming tights, Matt is laying down on his stomach in the shallow water at the edge of the sandbar.

“I could teach ya to swim, bro! It isn’t hard!”

Tabitha frowns. Maybe he glares a bit, but Matt can’t really tell when the smaller man’s eyes are almost entirely closed all the time anyway. “If you think for one second I’m getting in the water then you’ve lost more brain cells than any tutoring can fix!”

“C’mon, little Makuhita man!” Matt says with a laugh. “You gonna let a little pretty water scare ya?” 

The dark haired student scoffs. “Keep pestering me, you oversized brute, and I will go to Shalour myself.” 

Matt lifts his hands defensively as he stands. “I’m willing to risk it. C’mon, bro, everyone should at least know how!” Dripping wet, he towers over Tabitha and stretches out a hand. For a moment his expression grows more serious. Earnestly, he says, “You know I wouldn’t let nothin’ happen to ya.” 

Tabitha looks up at him for a moment in contemplation. Matt’s face is that of a sailor’s, complete with short brown hair that becomes a short beard beneath his chin. There are blue markings around his face; some sort of tattoos that make the bodybuilder seem even more marine. If anyone could succeed at teaching Tabitha to swim, it was Matt. “Fine. You win.” Before he can blink, the grinning swimmer traps him in a tight hug. “M-matt! My shirt!” 

With a laugh, the larger man releases him. “Sorry, bro. I just got excited!”

“I swear you’re worse than a Poochyena,” Tabitha grumbles as he looks at the wet spots on his t-shirt. With a sigh, he takes the garment off and lays it across the sand to dry. He kicks off his tennis shoes and sets them neatly beside it.

The student pauses for a moment and curls his toes in the sand. He has traveled the desert in Hoenn and even felt the sands in Lillycove, but this was far different. The sand in Azure Bay is as fine as sugar and feels softer than he had anticipated. If Matt notices his quiet fascination, he says nothing about it.

The bodybuilder walks beside him as Tabitha slowly wades into the tide. The cool water is almost relieving after resting in the bright sunlight and warm sand. He had seen the ocean when traveling, but Azure Bay is a clearer, brighter blue than the deep, rich seas. He has a moment of panic when the next step finds empty water instead of any sort of footing. 

Suddenly, there is a firm grip on his hand. Tabitha looks up and wonders for a brief moment how eyes can look as blue as the bay. Matt grins at him and drifts on the other side of the drop-off.

“C’mon, Tabitha! I gotcha!” 

Whatever comeback the shorter man was planning dies on his tongue. Instead, he grips Matt’s hand and pushes off into the waters. 

“You got it, bro!” Matt says, beaming at him. He holds his hand, yet swims just out of reach. “Just kick your feet a bit!”

“I-if you let go, I’ll make sure my ghost haunts you!” 

“Didn’t know Makuhita was a ghost-type.”

Matt gets a splash to the face for his efforts.

 

They spend the afternoon in Azure Bay. Eventually Matt releases his hand, but he never drifts far from the other student. Tabitha manages a semi-coordinated stroke on the water and even learns to float on his back. Even so, Matt seems to sense when he’s gotten tired of swimming and pulls them close enough to the sandbar to grab Tabitha’s red inner tube. They drift through the bay, chatting amiably, for a time. The two students spot a few pokemon in passing, such as Luvdisk and a Mantyke. At one point, a school of Remoraid swim just around their feet. When they finally leave the water to dry out, the sun is shining bright and Azure Bay shimmers beautifully in the light. Matt chats happily about adventures he had while swimming in the seas of Hoenn. Tabitha has never cared much for tales of sailors or swimmers at sea, but- for Matt- he’s willing to make the exception.

They both ride the Lapras back to shore and make their way to Shalour City.

Matt doesn’t bother with a shirt, but he does wear a pair of sandals per Tabitha’s request. His feet are rough from years of walking barefoot on the beaches and rocky shores of Hoenn, but Tabitha worries despite this. The smaller man is once again wearing his tennis shoes and red shirt (still a bit sandy but Matt has no room to judge).

Shalour City isn’t a big city, truly. After living so close to Lumoise, it seems almost small. It has its own charm to it, Matt decides. Already, Tabitha has a phone out and is taking pictures of the pink and white flowers planted just inside the city entrance. Although it’s in the opposite direction of the cave Tabitha wants to visit, they begin the walk to the Tower of Mastery.

“Courtney says she’ll kill me if I don’t send her more pictures,” Tabitha says, looking at the screen of his phone. 

Matt laughs. He doesn’t think the small, quiet camera girl could hurt a Flabebe, but doesn’t intend to test that theory. “Bro, just ask her what she wants to see so you know what to get.”

Tabitha seems to consider this a moment before typing out a reply. When his phone buzzes once to signify Courtney’s answer, he pulls a face that Matt can’t quite place before shoving the phone in his pocket. “Nevermind.”

“What’d she say?”

The smaller man shakes his head. “Nothing important. She’s just pulling my leg.”

Again, Matt finds it hard to match what Tabitha is saying with the lilac haired, stone-faced girl, but he assumes it’d be rude to ask. Instead he glances around at the scenery of Shalour. “Nice little town, huh? Kinda makes me think of Slateport.”

“Slateport? Maybe because of the beach, but otherwise it’s like Verdanturf.”

Matt looks at him curiously. “Verdanturf? Why?”

“It has rocky ridges surrounded by forests and its connected to a cave,” Tabitha states almost smugly. 

“But you can’t leave out the beach,” Matt reminds with a grin. He glances around once more as they descend the stone steps to the beach. After a moment, he claps his hands loudly, nearly scaring Tabitha down the remaining steps.

“What was that-“

“Lilycove.”

The red student stares at him incredulously before looking around at the town. “Lilycove, huh? Alright, I can see it. There’s only one major flaw in your logic.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Lilycove has nothing like that,” Tabitha says, pointing at the imposing tower. 

Matt gives a low whistle as he peers up at the Tower of Master. The setting sun, sitting just behind the grand structure, casts the world in a shade of orange. From the weathered parapets atop the brick walls to the climbing spires interspersed with tress, it seems like something out of a story book. 

“Hoenn’s got nothing like that,” the burly swimmer admits. 

There are a few people passing through along with the two students. A small family of four is making their way back to the center of Shalour. A group of teens is excitedly crossing the small sand bridge to the tower. A young couple in matching clothes is getting their picture taken by a photographer, which sparks an idea in Matt’s mind.

“You should totally get a shot of the tower! Courtney’d love it, right?”

“N-no, really, don’t worry about it!” Tabitha stutters oddly. “She just, uh, wanted us in the pictures is all.” 

Matt points at the photographer waving goodbye to the young couple. “Why don’t we just ask him to get a photo? C’mon, bro, it’ll be fun!” Before can Tabitha can speak, Matt is walking towards the photographer. 

If Tabitha truly objects to the idea, he knows Matt will let it be. Instead, he sends Courtney a very pointedly worded text and follows after the brute of a man.

The photographer has them stand at one end of the sand-bridge for the photo. At first Tabitha poses stiffly with his arms crossed and head held high, but then Matt enters the shot and slings an arm around his shoulder. He grins broadly and Tabitha can’t help but smile a bit as well. Matt’s other arm forms a fist aimed at the man in red. The shorter man thinks it’s a bit silly, but fist bumps with him anyway. 

The photographer ultimately hands them three photos: one with Tabitha alone, one when Matt first enters the scene and seems the throw off the man in red, and- of course- the fist bump. 

As the swimmer, chatting away, gives the photographer a tip, Tabitha looks at the photographs carefully. He’s been through Courtney’s collections of photographs that catalog their trio’s adventures, but these pictures feel different somehow. He still can’t put a word to it when he finally hands them to Matt, who looks at them with a smile before returning them to Tabitha.

“Someday we’ll have to come back and actually go inside,” the darker man says as they walk back towards the center of town. When Tabitha only hums dismissively, he continues. “I bet there are some pretty tough trainers in that place, but we could totally handle it. You, me and our pokemon would be a no-holds-barred barrage, bro!”

Tabitha stops at the top of the stairs and Matt halts a few steps below. The raven-haired man turns to look at the him. The red of the sunset paints him in orange hues that seem to suit him somehow. When Matt looks at his round face closely, he sees the wind stir a small tuft of black hair.

“… Thanks for today, Matt. It’s been different, but fun, and… I can’t imagine I would have done anything like this without you.”

Matt watches him for a moment before his face breaks into a smile. “Thanks, bro, but the trip isn’t over yet. Don’t ya wanna check out that cave near here?”

“Of course!” he asserts loudly, seriousness forgotten as he turns on his heel to walk on. “Reflection Cave is a very geologically unique location that even someone like you can appreciate.”

Matt chuckles to himself as he follows. “So, I guess you aren’t explaining the name until we get there?”

“Exactly!”

As the sunlight finally fades, the town’s lampposts are lit to cast soft yellow light on the stone paths. They pass a handful of people leaving the cave, but otherwise the town is quiet. By the time they reach the mouth of the cave, Tabitha is all but vibrating with excitement to finally see the attraction he’s been studying in preparation for this trip. He doesn’t grin quite like Matt, but for once his smile is neither mocking nor condescending. It is less of a rarity as of late, but Matt notices the difference all the same.

The grassy slopes and rocky archway are fairly typical of a cave, for Hoenn, Kalos or otherwise. Then they step inside and everything is blue.

That isn’t quite right. It isn’t the blue of azure bay, but the blue of strong storm clouds. There are multicolored crystals beneath the soles of Matt’s sandals that shine with a natural luminescence. He turns his head to speak to Tabitha, but the other man seems practically entranced by it all. Already, he’s tracing his fingers on the stones on the floor (even the plain gray ones). He’s talking about rocks with enough words Matt doesn’t understand that it might as well be a different language. Even so, there’s an unmistakable passion behind what Tabitha says, enough to make Matt consider learning more about the earth beneath his feet.

Maybe someday.

For today, he settles for listening and trying to understand what he can as the shorter man leads them down a small set of stone steps to their right.

At first the bodybuilder doesn’t believe it when he sees the pillar by the wall. Part of it is stone not unlike the floors and walls of the cavern, but some of the stone seem to shy away to reveal a clear, crystal core. Tabitha seems outright proud at Matt’s wide eyed stare. 

“I didn’t know anything like that could grow that big,” the taller man says.

Tabitha nods, all too eager to inform him. “There are crystal stalagmites all around this cave. Some have even connected with stalactites to form pillars. The crystals themselves aren’t worth much overall, but they take a unique form in Reflection Cave which makes the cavern a must see for any geologist.” 

Matt seems to ponder this a moment before grinning at Tabitha. “Valuable or not, I think it’s pretty cool.”

“Follow me, you brute,” the chubby man says with what one might almost call affection. “The best is still up ahead.”

With that, Tabitha leads them a bit deeper into the cave. They hop a small ledge and take another right to head down a narrow hall. Matt has only a moment to gawk at the crystal that hangs overhead like a beam before Tabitha instructs him to close his eyes. The chubby man’s smaller hand slides into his own and guides him forward. Only after halting the swimmer does Tabitha’s hand release him.

“Alright. Open.”

He sees himself. 

There is so much blue, on him and around him, that it almost feels like peering through water. His reflection is clearer than any water could show, however, and he feels a cold firmness when his hand reaches out to touch the crystalline mirror of the wall.

When he looks to the silent Tabitha, all he sees is red. 

Matt has never his eyes before.

Tabitha isn’t looking at him; his ruby orbs are trained on the mirror and the stones encasing it. The wheels in his head are turning and churning through data that only the man himself could guess at.

Matt’s blue eyes can only stare at the reflection of Tabitha.

He remembers being swept up in a tide once. He had taken a break from his exercises that day to rest on the sandy shore. He dozed a bit, but for the most part he was fully aware of the water slowly creeping up onto the shore. He didn’t really pay it much attention until a wave splashed his face. Only then did he sit up and realize just how high the tide had risen.

For Matt, this is the moment a wave strikes his face and sends him reeling.

“Your eyes….” 

Tabitha, breaking from his reverie, glances aside. “Oh… yeah. Red. Pretty scary, huh?”

“No!” Matt says quickly. He swallows thickly to calm his nerves and smiles once more. “It suits you perfectly, little Makuhita man!”

The red-clad man huffs indignantly, but bears a grin despite it. “I am at least a Hariyama, you oversized brute!” 

His eyes become small slivers once more, but the atmosphere in the cavern remains light-hearted as he tries to explain some of the theories about the cavern. Matt watches Tabitha intently, understanding only a little but willing to listen endlessly. His mind catalogues these moments as something too significant for definite words.

Amidst the cool blue stones, Matt knows he saw fire in the ruby red eyes.

 

They walk, with minor surfing, back to Coumarine. They chat about the day, Hoenn, pokemon, and more as they travel to its upper levels and board a bus headed back to Lumoise. When they finally return to campus, it’s later than either originally anticipated. They part ways at the bus stop with the promise to text and see each other again soon. 

Tabitha heads towards the dorms. His cheeks are tinted pink from the sun, his arms and legs are weary, and his backpack only feels heavier with each step. Despite it, he can think of few nights when he felt any happier than tonight.

Matt heads towards the small house he rents with Archie and Shelly. He doesn’t say a word when he walks in, which alone raises concern from his female roommate seated in the room. With a sigh, the burly bodybuilder collapses face-first into the couch.

“I’m doomed,” he says into the sofa.

Shelly leans over the couch cushions and folds her arms. “What happened? I thought you said everything went great.”

“Possibly the best day of my life,” comes a dead-pan, muffled answer.

“So what’s the problem?”

Only now does Matt turn his head enough for their eyes to meet. 

“I think I’m in love.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first post on AO3. I haven't written fanfiction in a while, but this couple has been on my mind for some time now. This is just a section of a larger AU fic I had been planning, but ultimately scrapped. I may write out more segments of it, but I knew I wasn't going to write the grand college fic I had originally planned.  
> The main reason that this snippet makes its way to light is because it was one of the clearer scenes I had planned out. Honestly, mostly Reflection Cave was planned and Azure Bay slightly, but the Tower of Mastery photographs were sort of improved as I looked at Shalour City in my Pokemon X game.  
> I plan to write a longer, chapter fic focused on Matt/Tabitha but also including Shelly/Courtney and of course Maxie/Archie. Before I did that, I wanted to practice posting something and see how it went.
> 
> I appreciate all comments and feedback/criticisms. I don't have a Beta Reader, but I did my best to polish this on my own. I'm sure it's still as rough as a Sharpedo in places, but as I said this was mostly a test run and maybe just a hint of things to come. We shall see.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
